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R.I.P. Select and Start on the Sony PlayStation Controller 1994-2013

The Select and Start buttons that have appeared on every Sony PlayStation controller since the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, died on November 15 in brick and mortar and online retail stores around the world. They were 18.

The cause was the release of the PlayStation 4 video game console which replaced the iconic buttons with Share and Option.

Select and Start were born in Tokyo, Japan in to the Sony Computer Entertainment Corporation. They later became an integral part of PlayStation video game controllers much like their older cousins of the same name on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Start would pause a game and allow players to enter other option screens while Select would, well, no one really knew what the hell Select did most of the time, but it was good to see it anyway.

Loved by gamers for the ability to pause a game or "put it on freeze" as some would say, Start was always there to help out when it came time for bathroom breaks or to anger another player if they were winning. Indeed, Start was the best friend to have around when a parent or guardian was beefing about taking out the trash, going to the store, or doing homework. "I remember Start from way back in the days," says gamer n00buThroo. "It helped me out when I was playing Madden and I had to answer my cell before my girlfriend got to it." Avid Gears of War fan SaraSawInHalf, remembers a time when Select and Start helped her out of a jam as well. "I was so wasted one night and kept losing at Gears multiplayer," she said. "I wanted to rage quit but I kept pressing Select. I'm glad now because that night, I got the longest killstreak ever."

As gamers begin to acclimate themselves to the use of the new Share and Options buttons on the PS4, it is important to remember the days of past when screams of "WTF just happened" would echo in living rooms after accidentally pressing the Start button during a frenzied gaming session. Never forget the moments of watching a heatedStreet Fighter match go still and silent just before delivering the final blow to a friend. Hold tight to the intense feelings of rage when a multiplayer match of Call of Duty would end after a newbie hit Start and then quit out. These are the days that gamers will never get back on the PlayStation console. Rage quitting and the like now take a few more steps but the feel of the small triangular Start button will be no more. For that, Select and Start, the video games world will miss you in the journey to nostalgia.

If you will also miss Select and Start, please add your memories to the comments section below. It serves as the button duo's guestbook.